Plant pot assembly



Dec. 27, 1949 E. A. HOLLOWELL PLANT POT ASSEMBLY ori ina Filed Feb. 23, 1945 3mm E.A.HOLLOWELL ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. .37, 1949 s" PATENT OFFICE PLANT POT ASSEMBLY Eugene A. Hollowell, Takoma Park, Md..

Original application February 23,1945, Serial No. 579,476. Divided and thisiapplication June 12, 1947, Serial No. 754,258 V 2 Claims. (an-a) I (Granted under the actof March -amended-April 30,1928;- 370 0. G. 757) This application is made under-theactof March 1 and-the invention herein described, if patented,

-'may be manufactured and used by or for the- Government-of the United States of America.

, 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928,

ztainer anda removable seal, in the form of a washer,- properly positioned therein; and

Figure 2 is a three-dimensional 'view of the removable seal shown in Figure 1.

for governmental purposes without the payment tome of any royalty thereon.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 579,476, filed February 23, 1945, now abandoned.

This invention relates to plant pot assemblies and has among its objects the provision of such assemblies which will afford suitable protection against dehydrating and waterlogging of plants.

Commercial porous plant pots, when used for the growing of plants in the home and in other places having a dry atmosphere, have two main disadvantages. First, the rapid loss of moisture through the wall of the pot is conducive to the drying of the soil next to the interior surface of the pot, thus creating an unfavorable soil condition for plant growth and survival. Secondly, when potted plants are placed into containers having water therein, overwatering is liable to occur, thus causing a waterlogged condition of the soil. Such a condition is also unfavorable for plant growth and frequently causes the early death of the plant. This invention avoids these undesirable conditions and provides instead a humid atmosphere surrounding the plant pot.

According to the invention, a plant pot assembly is provided which comprises an open-top container having an imperforate wall and a plant pot having a porous wall and a flange near the upper portion thereof, the plant pot being supported inside the container with its wall spaced from the wall of the container and in such a manner that the bottom of the plant pot is positioned a substantial distance above the bottom of the container, the space being reserved inside the container below the bottom of said plant pot for the accumulation of water. By this positioning of the plant pot, waterlogging is avoided, since the bottom of the plant pot does not contact the water at the bottom of the container. In addition to this feature, a removable seal is provided between the upper portion of the plant pot and the container which has the eiiect of causing the constant maintenance of humid atmospheric conditions around the plant pot, thus preventing drying of the soil in the plant pot.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is an embodiment of the invention and illustrates a longitudinal section of a con- Reierring with more particularity to the drawing, the plant pot assembly comprises an ordinary open-top containeri I having an imperforate wall and constructed of pottery, glass, metal, or other materials, a plant pot l2 having a porous wall and a flange i3 integrally mounted on the exterior surface of and near the upper portion of the plant pot, and a removable seal shown separately as Figure 2.

The removable seal, which is removably mounted within container ll, comprises a washer l5 and a series of spaced malleable supporting clips l6. Washer l5 is composed of a rigid inner ring ll, in the form of a metallic washer l8 imbedded in rubber, and a flexible outer ring IS, the outer periphery of inner ring l'l being attached to and having sealing engagement with the inner periphery of outer ring IS. The spaced malleable supporting clips l6 are each rigidly attached at one end to metallic washer l8 of inner ring l'l while the other end is shaped and adjusted to fit over the open top of container l I thus supporting washer l5 which, in turn, supports the plant pot as shown in Figure 1.

It is preferred that washer l5, when supporting plant pot 12, be of sufficient distance from the open end of container H so as to obscure the top of the plant pot from view. This has the effect of creating a more pleasing appearance of the assembly than if the top of the plant pot were exposed. Also, washer 15 should be of sufficient distance from the bottom of container ll so that when plant pot I2 is properly positioned thereon, the bottom of the plant pot will be above the bottom of the container with suflicient space reserved inside the container below the bottom of said plant pot for the accumulation of water 20. It is important that the bottom of the plant pot does not contact the water, otherwise waterlogging will occur.

When the elements are properly positioned and the water placed in its reserved space out of contact with the bottom of the plant pot, as shown in Figure 1, the upper surface of inner ring I! has sealing engagement with the lower surface of flange 13 of the plant pot. Additional sealing effect is obtained where the outer portion of outer ring l9 contacts the interior surface of the wall of container II. The resultant efiect is the constant maintenance of humid atmospheric conditions around the plant pot.

thus=to:suppo'rt said, washer and saidwplant pot,

;one, end ;to the rigid inner. ring; while ilreL-rother ingnengagementwith the lower'isurfacel of the 25 Having thus described the invention, I claim: the container to provide additional sealing effect,

1. A plant pot assembly comprising an openwhereby a humid atmosphere favorable for plant; top container having an imperforate wall, a plant growth and survival is constantly maintained pot having a porous wall and a flange near the around the plant pot. upper; portion thereof, saidplantpotlbeingz sup 2 rernovable seal ior use in, supporting a port'efi ifiside'tfie; :Qofitaineiif with'itsgwall' space plant p otfha ving a"-'poro'us"vvall i-virhen it is placed from the wall of the container and with the into 'a container liavihg'ari"'i1fiperforate wall, bottom of the plant pot positioned a substantiai compris g a washer and space uppo t ng clip distance above the bottom of the container t6" aid Was having a rigid inner ring and a flexprovide a space inside the contaflier be l'tiw th. l0i-"ible-..outer ring, t e Outer periphery of Said er bottom of the plant pot iorthe accumulation of f p peingattached to and having sealing engagewater thereby to keep said'bottofii bfthhlant nient wit'h the inner periphe y f said outer ring, pot always out of conta'tswith th'eleVlof the" idf pp t ng each v n n n ri idly accumulated water, gr fii vgjm g grm t attac hedtiothe inner ring while the other end form of a washer supported by paced upport-aw lS ShBIpEdI'tO fit over the top Of the container. ing clips, said washer having a rigid innerring EUGENE HOLLOWELL- and a flexible outer ring, the outer periphery of said inner ring having sealingt ?enagement with the inner periphery ofsaid outrsri'ng;each iii of said supporting jclips being rigidly secured at 520 7 REFERENCES CITED 'fhe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

end isshaped to. fit over' the top ofithe'nontainer said inner ring on its iupper'suriacei having; sealfian'ge of the plant .pot and also supportingsaid Number 

